Lottery Winnings
by cyher
Summary: A man whom even the Camdens have deemed hopeless, gives Mary hope for the future.
1. Default Chapter

Title: Lottery Winnings

Author: Cyher aka Tiger220

Summary: A man who even the Camdens have deemed hopeless, gives Mary hope for the future.

Author's Notes: This is in response to a 7Th Heaven lyric wheel challenge at TWoP. Unlike my other lyric wheels, I'm having to break it up into chapters. When it's finally finished, lyrics will be posted at the end of the fic.

Chapter 1

The air smelled fresh and crisp as Annie Camden dug through a bin of apples at the Glen Oak Market. She'd been there for ten minutes trying to find the 10 best apples. Bruised and old apples were useless; no one would want to eat them. Apples that weren't quite ripe were grainy and bitter. They'd just sit in the bowl for days until they were ripe enough to eat. If nobody was there to eat them during that small window when they were just right, they'd go bad and have to be discarded. Best not to have that.

Her apples needed to be firm all around with a uniformly rich, red, unmarked skin. They should be cool to the touch, and a deep breath should pick up traces of sweetness.

Finally, satisfied with her picks, she left the market and walked through the promenade on the way to the family van. Just as she unlocked the doors and placed that night's dinner in the back, she heard a bag rip and many things fall to the pavement.

Turning, she saw an elderly gentleman on the ground picking up cans of chili, vegetables, and root beer and placing them one by one in bicycle basket. Rushing towards him she said "Let me help you with those." She went to the door of the convenience store the man had come from to ask for another bag, but the door was locked, and a sign reading 'out to lunch' was hanging on the glass. "Looks like you got in just in time," she said, helping the man pick up his items. He paused for a moment to give her a stare, and then with the shake of his head and a small chuckle, he stood up.

"I don't think I've seen you around before, did you just move in?" she asked.

"No," he said, matter-of-factly, followed by either a small cough or another chuckle, Annie wasn't sure.

"Well, just the same, I'm sure we've never met. I'm Annie Camden," she said, extending her right hand.

"Bob Mitchell," he said, briefly shaking hands. "Thank you for the help, Mrs. Camden, now if you'll excuse—"Bob stopped mid-sentence when he realized all the air had been let out of his front tire.

Gales of laughter erupted from the end of the road. Four boys were doubled over at the hilariousness of their prank.

Bob raised his fist in the air, but the words he was about to speak died on his lips as Annie marched towards the boys. "Hey!" She yelled. "You four need to come over here and apologize to this man for what you did to him!" The four friends stopped laughing and their eyes grew wide. Their eyes darted back and forth before they started running at top speed. "When I find out who you are, I'm calling all of your mothers!" she called after them.

"You didn't have to do that," Bob said as Annie returned to his side.

"Yes I did. Those boys should know better," Annie said. "I can give you a ride home, if you'd like."

"That's okay," Bob said, "I can walk back easily."

"It's really no trouble at all," Annie insisted. "My van is just across the street. We can fold the back seats down and put your bike in back."

Bob looked around, weighing his options before finally agreeing to the ride home. She tried several times to engage in polite conversation, but Bob didn't seem to want to cooperate, giving short and vague answers to her prying questions. They had since lapsed into silence.

Annie was shocked when they arrived at his home at the end of a far away Glen Oak road. An old rusty truck sat next to the house with it's hood propped up and a tool box by it's side. The yard was mostly dirt surrounded by a picket fence that was missing most of it's fencing and what remained was weathered with only the smallest remnants of paint. The two story house was in the same virtually paintless condition with curtainless windows that must have sported an inch of dirt and grime on both sides. Annie couldn't help but imagine what a nice place it could be with some TLC.

Annie watched in silence as Bob got out of the van, and removed his items. He had just started up the sidewalk when Annie noticed a pile of cards in the passenger seat. Picking them up, she realized they weren't cards at all, but a stack of perhaps 20 scratch off lottery tickets. She rolled down the window and tapped her horn lightly.

"I think these are yours, Bob," she said sweetly. He took the tickets from her, uttered a gruff thank you and turned away. "They're kind of a gamble aren't they?" Annie said before he could take even one step away from the van.

"That's kind of the point," Bob said turning away yet again.

Annie's eyes lit up like flames. "I just got the most wonderful idea!" she said. "Why don't you join my family for dinner tonight. We can all get to know one another"

Bob closed his eyes and muttered a few silent words before turning back around. With a sigh, he leaned on the door and stuck his head in the window. "Mrs. Camden," he began, "I've been living in this town for 25 years, and most of this town's ignored me for over 20 of them. That's the way I like it. I'm not looking for friends and I don't want friends. Now, I appreciate your help today, but for future reference, I intend to go back to our previous arrangement of not giving a damn about each other. It worked well for me, and I'd appreciate it if you did the same. Good day, ma'am."

Dumbstruck, Annie watched as Bob wheeled his bike to the house and took his groceries inside. As he slammed the door shut, Annie knew that it couldn't end there. Bob was a member of the community that had been over-looked by most and shunned by those who had bothered to notice. It wasn't right. The Camdens had lived in Glen Oak for 23 years. How could they not have noticed Bob Mitchell? She then realized that it was her duty as a Christian woman and a minister's wife to not let Bob slip away unnoticed into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Lottery Winnings

Author: Cyher aka Tiger220

Summary: A man who even the Camdens have deemed hopeless, gives Mary hope for the future.

Author's Notes: This is in response to a 7Th Heaven lyric wheel challenge at TWoP. Unlike my other lyric wheels, I'm having to break it up into chapters. When it's finally finished, lyrics will be posted at the end of the fic.

Chapter 2

So many things happened in the Camden kitchen. It was of course used for cooking, and occasional meals were eaten at the small table when large portions of the family were away. It was also used for studying and phone calls and arguments. Today, however, it was used for a family meeting.

"So what do you guys think?" Annie asked. She had just unveiled her plan for bringing Bob Mitchell out of his shell of despair and into the community. Annie looked around the kitchen at her husband, Mary, Lucy and Kevin, Martin and Cecilia, Ruthie and Peter, and the twins. Everyone had a job to do, and all except one had agreed enthusiastically.

"I can't do this," Mary said.

"Sure you can, honey," Eric said reassuringly. "All you need to do is just have a conversation. Maybe help clean up a little bit..."

"That's not what I mean," Mary said. "I won't help you guys turn this man into another Camden Family Project. Can't you just leave him in peace?"

"But Sweetie, he's not in peace," Annie said walking around the counter and putting her arms around her oldest daughter's shoulders. "If you had seen the way those kids were treating him you'd know that he needs our help."

"No," said firmly. "I'm not going to be a part of this insane plan."

"Ah pregnancies...aren't they wonderful," Eric said dryly as Mary left the room and Annie chased after her.

It was times like these when Mary couldn't be sure if she missed Carlos or not. On one hand, he wasn't nearly as crazy as her family or their new strays in need, and she loved him dearly. She couldn't wait for his business trip to end so he could come back to the states and they could go back to New York.

On the other hand, he really wanted to move back to Glen Oak. "I want our baby to be raised in safe place, far away from the violence of New York and close to people who will love and care for it," he had said. Of course, her family was more than happy at the prospect of their oldest daughter and first grandchild living in the same town. Mary could see one of two things happening if they stayed in Glen Oak: 1. She'd go crazy and hate every minute of it, or 2. She'd go crazy and turn into her parents.

Either way, the outcome looked grim.


End file.
